Rick Stein has had some remarkable news. ‘I went back to see my surgeon and he said, “You’ve got the heart of a 37-year-old now. Your heart will outlive you!”’
Rick laughs because he is actually 40 years older than that, but he is just glad to be alive at all. ‘It is a very traumatic and scary operation, but open heart surgery has changed my life,’ says the chef, who went under the knife two years ago.
His aorta was failing and urgent repairs were needed, but now he has recovered fully and looks very well in his dark-blue polo shirt, smiling broadly. There’s no more breathlessness and his head is in a better place, too. ‘Your heart is much more than just a pump, it has a psychological effect on your whole system,’ he says. ‘The heart is the centre of your emotional being, so to have it not working too well is a downer, not just physically but mentally. I lived with a really duff heart for about eight years so I do really appreciate how bad it is for some people. To come out the other side of an operation like that with much better health is just a fantastic experience, to be honest. I just feel incredibly lucky.’
That’s just as well, because this warm, avuncular man has been travelling around the country exploring the food that the British people love to eat right now. His TV series Rick Stein’s Food Stories is coming soon to BBC2, and the best of all that Rick found and thought on his travels has been gathered into a book of the same name, which is published this week. Some of the recipes are powerfully nostalgic, with Rick’s inventive takes on childhood favourites like fish finger sandwiches, fruit crumbles and prawn cocktails. ‘The food you have as a child is really embedded in your whole being,’ he says firmly.
His trademark fish dishes feature alongside new versions of great British classics, of course, but Rick also explores the rich variety of global tastes available here today, from spicy Indian street food sold out of a van in Leicester to Filipino cooking in Northern Ireland.
Rick sampling dishes for Food Stories in Northern Ireland
Rick and wife Sarah in Sydney
‘There is still a place for traditional British food in this country, but look at the nation’s favourite dishes,’ he says enthusiastically. ‘They are a mixture of fish and chips and roast beef and various Indian curries, like chicken tikka masala, and kebabs.’
The book and show reflect the huge changes Rick has seen in five decades as a chef. ‘When I started cooking professionally in the mid- 70s I seem to remember most restaurant menus were still written in French,’ he says. ‘The repertoire of dishes was very limited, particularly if you concentrated on seafood as I did. Since then, the sorts of things we eat have changed out of all recognition. You can get food from virtually any part of the world in this country, and not just in London. Having a Filipino Sunday lunch in Belfast is probably the most extreme example of that. Cooked by Filipinos with a lot of very admiring locals eating it. Imagine that in the 70s! You wouldn’t have believed it.’
His easy charm is much in evidence again, and it’s great to see him so busy after the kerfuffle a few months ago, when Rick accidentally told a reporter he didn’t have long to live. That was a mistake, apparently. ‘I started by saying that at age 77, with the best will in the world, I haven’t got that much longer to go. What I meant was I hope I have got at least 20 years to go, right? But it came out like I’ve got a life-threatening illness. Well I haven’t, all right?’
He’s very insistent, in a jolly sort of way, although the surgery was a moment of crisis for his family. So did it draw them together? ‘Oh, gosh, yes, crikey. My sons are in their thirties and forties and I think they just assume their parents are going to go on forever, you know? They’re at the really busy time of their life and they don’t want to think about the fact their parents are getting older and are going to die, so it really did throw them.’
Ed, Jack and Charlie are close to their father and they all serve as directors in the company. Ed, the eldest, runs the building and refurbishment work, including for new restaurants. Middle son Jack is the chef director, overseeing all the menus as well as making his own television shows and writing books. The youngest, Charlie, is a wine expert, and chooses every bottle they serve.
Rick with his three sons, Charlie, Ed and Jack, in 2011
The boys’ mother – and Rick’s first wife – Jill is still very much involved, having designed the look of the brand from the start. Rick and Jill divorced in 2007 after it emerged that he was having an affair with his publicist Sarah Burns, who is 20 years his junior. Sarah, whom he calls Sas, became his second wife in 2011 and the pair co-own restaurants in her native Australia. She nursed Rick back to health after the operation.
‘My wife Sas was just fabulous when I was ill,’ Rick says. ‘She had never cooked for me before. And actually, she’s a good cook, which came as a bit of a surprise to me. I was really weak and not in a good way physically and to have somebody looking after you is just fantastic.’
His smile fades for a moment and, in that gentle accent shaped by Oxfordshire, London and his adopted county Cornwall, he becomes reflective. ‘When something like this operation happens you do realise how much you need each other and it’s not only good for you, it’s good for them.’
He grew up on a farm in Oxfordshire and it was idyllic until his father Eric committed suicide when Rick was just 17. Wild with grief, he set off on a wander that took in America and Australia, working on ships and in an abattoir. After reading English at Oxford, Rick drifted down to Cornwall and started his first restaurant in Padstow with Jill in 1975.
The Steins now also have cafes, shops, a bar, a pub, hotel rooms and lavish holiday home rentals in and around the town many tourists call Padstein. There are also Rick Stein restaurants in upmarket places like Marlborough, Sandbanks, Winchester and Barnes.
Here’s a cheeky question for him, though: wouldn’t next year’s golden anniversary be a great time to step back? ‘Well, I am trying to,’ says Rick, surprisingly. ‘This year we’ve sorted out what I’m going to do from now on with my company. Along with my ex-wife Jill, we are leaving the business [to the boys] as much as possible. That does mean letting them get on with it. Certainly the idea we have of maybe opening up a restaurant in central London, it’s all for them. They’re running it. I am purposely just keeping out of it.’
Has he actually had enough? ‘I still like the business and enjoy it but I don’t want to be…’ Rick leaves the sentence unfinished, perhaps unwilling to suggest out loud that he might become a burden. ‘Apart from anything else, because I’m 77, I want my sons to be involved in it because we want to attract younger people. Ultimately, that’s down to my children, not me.’
But he’s still capable of springing surprises. There’s a recipe in the new book containing one of the most demonised ingredients of all time: monosodium glutamate. ‘I think it’s time to stand up and be counted, to be honest,’ says Rick, who suggests sprinkling a little on his crab and sweetcorn soup, a recipe which is a fresh, simplified version of the first thing he ever ate at a Chinese restaurant, in Peterborough in 1964. ‘Years ago I read an article which pointed out that MSG is no more or less dangerous for you than salt. We’ve all assumed it is something that gives you headaches or skin rashes when there’s no reality in that. I’ve never put MSG in any of my recipes [before], just because I don’t want people to say, “How could you do this?” But the reality is that it’s not dangerous. I just thought it was time I actually pointed this out to people.’
Is he ready for the inevitable backlash? ‘Yes!’
Rick says he is off to Australia again in a few days to keep an eye on the restaurants he and Sarah own in New South Wales. How does he manage to cross the world so often? ‘Well, it’s a lot of flying. I don’t mind the journey, it’s the jet lag that kills me. As I’m getting older, it’s just a right bugger. But I do have a lovely time. I’ve got lots of friends there. People think I live there but I don’t. I live here, but I do love going there. I love Aussies. I find their optimistic view on life really quite stimulating.’
He’s been through a lot lately, but it seems he has caught a little of that Aussie optimism from his mates and his wife, not to mention his doctor. ‘Yeah, I’m not too bad,’ he says. ‘You just keep going, don’t you?’
Rick Stein’s Food Stories is coming soon to BBC2 and BBC iPlayer.
Now try Rick’s recipes
Starters and light meals
Korean fried chicken wings with soy, garlic, ginger and gochujang
I’m amazed at how quickly Korean food has become popular in this country. It’s easy to see why, though, as it is sweet, spicy and full of interesting flavours like kimchi and gochujang, a fermented red chilli paste which I use here.
Serves 4 or 8 as a starter
15g fresh root ginger, grated
75g cornflour
1kg chicken wings
1ltr vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
for the Sauce
6tbsp soft brown sugar
or honey
3tbsp gochujang chilli paste
2tbsp soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, grated
10g fresh root ginger, grated
1tbsp rice wine vinegar
1tbsp tomato ketchup
To serve
2tsp sesame seeds
3-4 spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal
Salad
To make the sauce, place the sugar or honey, gochujang, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, rice wine vinegar and tomato ketchup in a pan along with 4tbsp water. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and heat for 4-5 minutes, until combined into a glossy sauce. Keep the sauce warm until ready to serve or set it aside and reheat when needed.
Mix the ginger and cornflour in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken wings and toss them until well coated all over, then set them aside.
Fill a large, deep pan two-thirds full with the oil and place over a medium-high heat until the oil has reached 175°C. Fry a batch of 4 or 5 wings for about 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through, until crisp and golden. Transfer to a baking tray lined with kitchen paper and keep them warm in a low oven while you cook the remaining wings – allow the oil to come back up to temperature each time before cooking the next batch.
Once all the chicken is cooked, pour the hot sauce all over the wings. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and spring onions and serve immediately, while still crispy, with a salad.
Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls
Fresh spring rolls are all about texture and flavour. The rice paper wrappers are so thin that you can see the colours and shapes of the vegetable and prawn filling inside.
Makes 8
■ 35g rice vermicelli noodles
■ 8 rice paper wrappers
■ 16 chives
■ 8 coriander sprigs, plus extra to garnish
■ 50g fresh bean sprouts
■ 1 carrot, grated or cut into matchsticks
■ ¼ of a cucumber, deseeded and cut into matchsticks
■ ½ a little gem lettuce, finely shredded
■ 125g cooked, peeled prawns, halved lengthways
■ 1-2tbsp roasted peanuts, roughly chopped (optional)
■ 16 mint leaves, plus extra to garnish
■ Lime wedges, to serve
for the dipping Sauce
■ 2tbsp lime juice
■ 2tbsp fish sauce
■ 1tbsp sugar
■ 1tsp grated root ginger
■ 1 red bird’s-eye chilli,
thinly sliced
■ 1 garlic clove, grated
Bring a pan of water to the boil, drop in the noodles, then take the pan off the heat. Leave to soak for 2 minutes, then drain and rinse under cold water. Drain again and set aside.
Mix the ingredients for the dipping sauce in a bowl with 2tbsp cold water. Set aside.
Have all the filling ingredients prepared and to hand. Soak a rice paper wrapper in a bowl of cold water for up to a minute, then transfer to a damp tea towel. Leaving a border around the edge, add the filling as follows: arrange 2 chives in an X pattern in the middle, add a sprig of coriander, then some noodles, bean sprouts, carrot, cucumber, lettuce, prawns and peanuts, if using. Top with a couple of mint leaves.
Fold the edge nearest to you over the filling, tuck the sides over to enclose the ends, then roll away from you to seal in the filling. Set aside under a folded damp tea towel to prevent the roll drying out. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Garnish with coriander and mint, and serve with lime wedges and individual bowls of sauce.
Chickpea, chorizo and red pepper cazuela
One of the big changes I am observing in the way we eat out these days is the trend towards small sharing plates. I really like the way these dishes are just served as soon as they are ready and not as part of a conventional main course.
Serves 4-6 as a starter or a few more with drinks
3tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
or grated
1tsp hot smoked paprika (pimentón)
150g chorizo, diced
1tbsp dry sherry
2 x 400g tins of chickpeas, drained
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
100g roasted red peppers, from a jar, diced
Salt and black pepper
A small handful of
parsley, chopped
Crusty bread, to serve
Heat 2tbsp of the oil in a pan, add the red onion and garlic and fry over a medium heat until softened. Add the paprika and chorizo. Fry for a minute or so, then add the sherry and allow it to bubble up.
Add the chickpeas, tomatoes and red peppers and fry for a few more minutes. Season with salt and black pepper, then stir through the parsley and remaining olive oil.
Serve in small shallow bowls with crusty bread to mop up the juices.
Lunches and suppers
Fish finger sandwiches
I’m very pleased to have discovered that these sandwiches are one of the nation’s favourite dishes – and they’re even better with home-made fish fingers, rather than shop-bought ones.
Serves 4
■ 500g thick pollock or haddock fillet, skinned
and cut into 2cm strips
■ Salt and black pepper
■ 2tbsp plain flour
■ 1 large egg, beaten
■ About 70g panko breadcrumbs
■ 3-4tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
■ Lemon juice
To serve
■ 8 slices of white bread, buttered
■ Lettuce leaves
■ Tartare sauce or tomato ketchup
Season the fish strips with salt and pepper, then roll them in the flour, followed by the egg, then the breadcrumbs.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the fish for 2-3 minutes on each side, until crisp and golden. Sprinkle with a little salt and lemon juice, then assemble the sandwiches with lettuce and tartare sauce or ketchup.
Chicken tikka masala
This is without question one of the nation’s favourite dishes. At its best, it’s a combination of tandoori chicken with a rich, spicy tomato sauce cooked in ghee or butter – and it is often said to have been invented in the UK.
Serves 4
■ 2tsp cumin seeds
■ 1½tsp coriander seeds
■ 750g skinless, boneless chicken breast meat (about 4 breasts), cut into 3-4cm chunks
■ 25g ghee or clarified butter, melted
■ 1½tbsp lemon juice
■ A small handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped, plus extra to garnish
for the Marinade
■ Seeds from 12 green cardamom pods, crushed
■ Juice of 1 large lemon
■ 1tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
■ 1tsp ground turmeric
■ 1tsp salt
■ 150ml natural yoghurt
■ 25g root ginger, grated
■ 2 garlic cloves, grated
For the sauce
■ 3tbsp ghee, clarified butter or vegetable oil
■ 1 large onion, finely sliced
■ 2 garlic cloves, grated
■ 25g fresh root ginger, grated
■ ½tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
■ 1tsp garam masala
■ 225g chopped tomatoes, tinned or fresh
■ 1tbsp tomato paste
■ 1tbsp ground almonds
■ ½tsp salt
■ 1tsp sugar
■ 120ml double cream
■ 3 green chillies, slit open
To serve
■ Chapatis, pilau rice and lemon wedges
Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry frying pan until fragrant. Cool, then grind in a spice grinder or with a pestle and mortar.
Put 1tsp of the toasted and ground seeds in a bowl with all the marinade ingredients. Add the chicken chunks to the bowl, then toss to coat. Set aside to marinate for about 30 minutes.
Line a grill pan with foil and preheat the grill to high. Take the chicken pieces out of the marinade and brush with melted ghee or clarified butter.
Cook under the grill – or on a barbecue – for 5-6 minutes on each side, until lightly charred in places and cooked through.
For the sauce, heat the ghee, clarified butter or vegetable oil in a pan and fry the onion until soft and golden. Add the grated garlic and ginger and cook for a few minutes. Stir in the remaining toasted seeds, and the chilli powder and garam masala, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, ground almonds, salt and 300ml water, then bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add any remaining marinade together with the sugar, cream and green chillies to the sauce and simmer gently for 10 minutes, or until it has thickened a little.
Add the chicken to the sauce and cook for a few more minutes, then stir in the lemon juice and coriander. Garnish with more coriander leaves, then serve with chapatis, pilau rice and lemon wedges.
To make tamarind water, mix 60g tamarind pulp with 150ml warm water. Massage until broken down. Strain and chill.
Pad Thai with tofu
I wrote this recipe after a trip to a tofu factory just outside Leeds – I was so interested to find that perfectly good tofu is now made in this country and the flavour was great.
Serves 2
■ 175g Thai folded rice noodles
■ 4tbsp vegetable oil, plus 1tsp
■ 2tbsp Thai fish sauce
■ 2tbsp tamarind water (see tip, top right)
■ ½tsp chilli flakes
■ 2tbsp sweet chilli sauce
■ 1tbsp palm sugar or soft brown sugar
■ 200g firm tofu, cut into 1.5cm dice
■ 1 garlic clove, grated
■ 2 eggs, beaten
■ 50g bean sprouts
■ 1tbsp dried shrimp (optional)
■ 4 spring onions, trimmed, halved and shredded lengthways
■ A small handful of fresh coriander, chopped, plus extra to garnish
■ 50g roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
■ Lime wedges, to serve
Bring a pan of water to the boil, drop in the noodles and cook for about 3 minutes, until just tender. Drain well, refresh with cold water, then drain again and toss in 1tsp oil to prevent them clumping together. Set aside.
Combine the fish sauce, tamarind water, chilli flakes, chilli sauce and sugar in a small bowl, then set aside.
Heat 2tbsp oil in a wok and fry the cubes of tofu in batches until golden. Remove and set aside to keep warm.
Add the remaining oil to the wok, add the garlic and stir-fry for 10 seconds, then add the drained noodles and stir-fry for a minute.
Push the noodles to one side, pour in the eggs and scramble them quickly in the wok.
Add the bowl of sauce and combine with the noodles, then add the bean sprouts, dried shrimp, if using, the fried tofu, spring onions, coriander and peanuts. Mix well.
Divide between warmed bowls and garnish with lime wedges and coriander leaves.
Beef Chow Mein
Most of the Chinese restaurants in Britain in the 1970s and 80s
were Cantonese, so my early experiences of Chinese food
were dishes from this region.
And chow mein is one of the all-time favourites.
Serves 3-4
■ 400g sirloin steak, fat removed and cut into thin slices
■ 1tbsp cornflour
■ A large pinch of ground
white pepper
■ 1tbsp oyster sauce
■ 125ml sunflower or vegetable oil, plus 1tbsp
■ 250g dried egg noodles (4 nests)
■ 150g bean sprouts
■ 3 spring onions, trimmed and shredded lengthways
■ 100g mangetout
■ 100g shiitake mushrooms, sliced
■ 3 garlic cloves, chopped
■ 15g root ginger, grated or finely chopped
For the sauce
■ ½tsp sugar
■ 1tbsp oyster sauce
■ 3tbsp soy sauce
■ 1/8tsp ground white pepper
To serve
■ 2 spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal
Place the sliced steak in a bowl. Sprinkle with the cornflour and pepper, then mix well. Add 2tbsp water, the oyster sauce and the 1tbsp oil. In a separate bowl, mix the sauce ingredients with 100ml water and set aside. Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions and drain well. Heat about 100ml oil in a pan. When it’s hot, add the drained noodles and fry until crispy. Remove and keep warm.
Add the remaining oil to the pan and stir-fry the beef over a high heat until cooked through. Add the bean sprouts, shredded spring onions, mangetout, mushrooms, garlic and ginger and stir-fry for a couple of minutes, then add the sauce and allow it to bubble and thicken. Divide the noodles between serving bowls and spoon the steak mixture over. Serve topped with the sliced spring onions.
Chicken Katsu Curry
There are probably very few people under 30 who don’t know this popular dish, which combines the Japanese love of protein fried in panko breadcrumbs with the flavours of India.
Serves 4
■ 4 small chicken breasts
■ Salt and black pepper
■ 2tbsp plain flour
■ 1 large egg, beaten
■ 60-70g panko breadcrumbs
■ 60ml sunflower or
vegetable oil
■ Steamed green vegetables, to serve
For the rice
■ 400g sushi rice
■ ½tsp salt
For the Katsu sauce
■ 2tbsp oil
■ 2 carrots, chopped
■ 1 large onion, chopped
■ 2 garlic cloves, chopped
■ 10g root ginger, grated
■ 1tbsp medium curry powder
■ ½tsp cayenne pepper
■ 400ml tin of coconut milk
■ 150ml chicken stock
■ 2-3tsp soy sauce
■ 2tsp honey
■ 2tbsp malt vinegar
Wash the sushi rice until it runs clear, then leave to soak for about 30 minutes in cold water.
For the sauce, heat the oil in a pan. Gently fry the carrots, onion, garlic and ginger until soft. Add the curry powder and cayenne and cook for 1 minute, then add the coconut milk, chicken stock, soy sauce, honey and vinegar. Simmer for 20-25 minutes, until the vegetables are really soft.
Using a stick blender, blitz to form a smooth sauce. Add a little more soy sauce or honey if needed.
Place a chicken breast between 2 sheets of clingfilm or baking parchment and bash it with a rolling pin into an escalope about 3-4mm thick. Season with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining breasts. Put the flour, egg and breadcrumbs on three separate plates. Dip each chicken breast in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs.
Put the soaked rice in a pan with 500ml cold water and the salt, cover and bring to the boil. Once boiling, immediately turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, leave the lid on the pan and allow the rice to steam for a further 10 minutes.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side, until golden. If cooking in batches, transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and keep warm.
Slice each chicken breast on the diagonal into five pieces. Spoon some rice into a teacup and compress, then turn out on to a plate to make a rice dome. Add slices of chicken and spoon over some of the sauce. Serve with steamed green vegetables.
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